Let There Be NBA in 2011

2 days removed from Thanksgiving and 1 day removed from Black Friday, November 26, 2011 is a day of continued celebration. Why? The answer is simple! The National Basketball Association (NBA) lockout has been lifted or for some resurrected from the grave. Although not official, there has been a tentative agreement between players and owners. Even though it isn't official, for most sports fans especially Basketball fans, it is a huge step in the right direction. Just like the NFL in the beginning of 2011 that left many fans of the sport in limbo as to what one will do for the season, most NBA fans were left in limbo as well, until today. To think that the chances of Basketball being played in 2011 was getting slimmer and slimmer especially the way the Commissioner, David Stern, kept saying to the media. Today is a day of jubilation! Some specifics in the collective bargaining agreement are as follow:

• Revenue split: The players will receive anywhere from 49 percent to 51 percent of basketball-related income based on revenue projections.

• New $2.5 million exception for teams below the salary cap to go over the cap. Those teams can’t use the midlevel or bi-annual exceptions.

• Midlevel exception: up to $5 million starting salary with four-year maximum contract length; teams that exceed the luxury-tax threshold by $4 million will be limited to using a $3 million midlevel exception with a four-year maximum contract.

• Minimum team salary increases to 85 percent of the salary cap in the first two years of the deal and 90 percent of the cap in the years thereafter.

• Maximum salary: Only one player per team is eligible to receive a maximum salary worth 30 percent of the salary cap.

These are a few details between players and owners on the agreement that has been tentatively agreed upon. With the resurrection of the 2011 NBA season, many fans will now have a chance to witness the annual Christmas Day match-up which usually consists of two highly-successful teams. As well as the weekly NBA games on Wednesday on ESPN/TNT which can now be seen. Unlike the NFL, the NBA is shown more often throughout the week which gives sports fans something to watch for, making the work week for them more bearable. Knowing that the NBA lockout is going in the right direction and sooner or later will become official, basketball fans can now finally update their social networks from the popular "End the NBA lockout, we want basketball" plea to " Go [Insert Team's Name] chant!" What team will you be cheering for this 2011-2012 NBA Season? 

There Will Be A New Champ!!

NBA's Most Historic Team

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have terrorized all of the NBA without mercy, since the NBA’s inception. Their rivalry was so fierce that it became a spectacle in both cities, all over the country and all over the world. As a result, they were a catalyst in bringing the NBA to prominence besides ‘some’ player who played for the Chicago Bulls. These two teams are so rich in history and championships that if they were to monetize it, they probably would relieve the United States, Portugal, Ireland and other countries out of their national debt with money & gold to spare. Ever since the first championships of BAA and NBA in 1947, 63 teams have been crowned champions (from 1947 till 2010); and, between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, they’ve won 33 Championships and have been to the NBA finals 52 times. In other words, they became a fixture in the NBA finals, and when they are not, people become flummoxed as to why. Most of the players from both teams are in the NBA Hall of Fame, not because they were part of extraordinary teams, but because they were and are (Those playing in the present Celtics' and Lakers' team such as Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and The Laker Kobe Bryant; once they retire, will be) extraordinary players. From the likes of Oscar Robertson, Erving “Magic” Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and the list goes on and on. However, in the 2011 season, to a crowds cheer, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers will not be in the finals, for they have been eliminated in their conference semi-final playoff game series.

Many people, other than their fans have been screaming for joy; yelling “There will be a new champ, There will be a new champ”, signifying they’ve become desensitized to the NBA playoffs cause they know the Lakers or the Celtics will eventually win it.  However, in the 2011 season that will not be the case; and, now those people can tune in to see which team will capitalize on both teams’ demise. The teams that defeated the Lakers and Celtics, have a history between them that one player has said “it’s kept him up all night, thinking how that opportunity passed him by.” This was Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks recalling the 2006 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, which the Mavericks won the first two games but ended losing the series in six games.  The Dallas Mavericks swept the reigning two time champions – four games to none ( out of a seven game series); and, the ‘Big 3’ of the Miami Heat defeated the aging ‘Big 3’ of the Boston Celtics, four games to one.  The look on the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics bench, knowing they will not be in the NBA Finals, can be paralleled to the look of a bystander looking at macabre scene on the street.  However, the Celtics handled defeat with more class and dignity than the Lakers, especially that of Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum.

Dirk Nowitzki vs LeBron James

Now that the two most storied franchises are not in title contention, which team will step up and take their rightful place as 2011 NBA Finals champ? Representing the Eastern Conference, and after the Miami Heat’s performance, all signs point to their 2^nd title in five years. Will the Chicago Bulls return to the glory days of Michael Jordan, with their now leader and League MVP, Derrick Rose at the helm? Representing the Western Conference, and after the Dallas Mavericks sweep of the two time reigning NBA Finals Champions, all signs point to their first championship on franchise history. Will the “Daruntala” (Kevin Durant) of the Oklahoma City Thunder spin his web of dazzling shooting range ability to the NBA finals? Will the Memphis Grizzlies and the ‘neighborhood bully’ known as Z-Bo (Zach Randolph), ruin Oklahoma City’s festivities? However, both signs from the East and the West, point to the two teams that met in the 2006 NBA Finals – Miami Heat vs. Dallas Mavericks to meet five years later in the 2011 NBA Finals!

What Do You Call An Underdog Defeating A Favorite?

Upset Defeating Man O'War

This past weekend was a gambler's worst nightmare. For most gamblers, they usually put money on the favorites, and in this case, it was in the NBA Playoffs but was not limited to just basketball. However, when the teams projected to win, do not, it is considered an upset. The word upset originated in the sport of Horse Racing, during its golden era, around the early 1900s. Story goes: A horse by the name of Upset defeated Man O'War, a horse that had an unblemished record and was considered to be unbeatable, in a race that had gamblers dumbfounded of the outcome. The outcome had many people, not only gamblers, scratching their heads asking each other how was that Man O'War lost to a 'no name.' As a result of such a gran feat, the word upset later became to mean - to defeat unexpectedly. Upsets are what exactly happened in the first round of NBA playoffs and in a highly touted boxing bout. 

All across the NBA, in the Eastern and Western Conferences, there were upsets. Two upsets occurred in the Western Conference and one in the Eastern Conference. The two teams in the West that were upset were the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. The reason behind the 'shock' of these two teams losing were the fact that both teams had some of the best records in the NBA, and losing to 'lesser' teams in the first game of a five game series, was by many experts not expected. The Memphis Grizzlies were the team that everyone wrote off because their record was below average, but as they proved, records mean nothing. Paralleling the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs efforts, were the Orlando Magic. But the Orlando Magic did not have that 'shock' factor because they were playing a team, in which, according to the NBA seeds were 'equal.' 

The NBA Playoffs were not the only sport that upsets happened, for an upset also happened in Boxing. The magnitude of the upset that occurred in boxing can be paralleled to the Memphis Grizzlies defeating the San Antonio Spurs. In this case, Andre Berto would be that of The Spurs and Victor Ortiz would be that of The Grizzlies. As with both The Grizzlies and Ortiz, no one, especially gamblers, gave them the chance to defeat such 'giants' in their respective sport, because of their previous outcomes. Unblemished record, top three fighter in the weight class, Andre Berto was the heavy favorite against Victor Ortiz, especially after Ortiz's previous fight, in which, he 'quit', but as the sports world knows and what this article insinuates; being the favorite is merely a praise and not a guarantee. 

The favorites should not underestimate any opponent because, as history has shown, an upset can occur to anyone and/or any team at a moments notice, which would give way for Freddy Krueger to stalk the dreams of those gambler's, who put money on the favorites to win.